Accessibility Links

Look at the size of the job, not of the bonus

If business is to thrive in the UK, politicians and the public must respect what it does

Roger Carr

January 31 2012, 12:01am, The Times

In the face of growing economic difficulty and widespread austerity, the capitalist system is being challenged and its fairness questioned. The rhetoric of politicians and commentators becomes ever more populist and impassioned, corroding trust in the industrial and commercial fabric of our society, on which we all depend.

In pursuit of headlines, politicians have rediscovered old terms of abuse — boardroom cronies, fat cattery, asset strippers. But this language ignores the great change that has taken place in boardrooms over the past decade and the positive impact that the UK corporate governance code has had on business behaviour.

Nonetheless, big business is increasingly viewed as bad business, run by the greedy few at the expense of the many. But this negativity overlooks the jobs that…